Squier '51 roll-call

Madscience,

I've been wanting to paint one of my strat copies or my Vintage Blonde, Tangerine. Can't wait to see how yours comes out. Don't forget the pics.

Vanzant,

I will be posting pictures soon. Im in the process of clearing the body now. The Krylon Tangerine isn't exactly what I'd call "Tangerine" looks more like a Peach to me. However I think it's still going to turn out pretty good. Heres a pic of the body so far. just before clearing. The Flash turned it a little lighter than it really is, so this picture isn't a really good one for judging the color. Im also in teh process of aging the neck heres a early pic of that too. Also If I were you I wouldn't paint that Vintage Blonde, they're too hard to come by. Just pick up a black or SB at Musicians friend for $99 buck and go to town.

God Bless,

the only alteration ive done to mine is a vinyl sticker on the pickguard. it's a black sun (of course, my favorite symbol). now i want another 51 to mod. damn you all, you're gonna break my wallet.

Well I finished up the Neck tonight. Heres a pic of the one Neck that has been "Aged" beside the other Neck that hasn't been done yet. Turned out quite Nice I think.

WOW that is gonna be one sweet 51.

Yes..Very Nice. :)

Looks great. What color do you plan on making the body and pickguard? Or do you plan on 'filling in' the body, because I think this would be a sweet looking guitar without the pickguard, too.

I'm not a fan of those colors normally but that's gonna be real purty. :D

Finished the Tangerine '51 Heres a pic... Looks more like Peach to me but it turned out sweet enough that I didnt want to change the color.

After reading all the great reviews, I ordered a black '51 last night from MF. How could I not get excited about such a great deal on such a cool guitar....I just got swept up in the hype. It has already shipped and will be here in a few days and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. There is one minor problem...I DON'T PLAY ELECTIRIC GUITAR...(yet?). Ok, I do have an acoustic/electric, but no cutaway and some of the trappings of an electric: Fender Princeton Amp and V-AMP2. Under duress I guess I could find the minor pentatonic scale. And while I've played a long time, at best I'm an intermediate acoustic guitar player. I wanted some suggestions:

1. When the '51 arrives, what do I do? I will change the strings...to .010? But beyond that, I don't know..... any advice on setup beyond tightening the screws and fittings?...links to setting the action and I guess each string is adjustable for tone?

2. Any suggestions for making the transition from acoustic to electric playing?

Thanks.

Well I finished up the Neck tonight. Heres a pic of the one Neck that has been "Aged" beside the other Neck that hasn't been done yet. Turned out quite Nice I think.

What did you end up using to darken the neck?

What did you end up using to darken the neck?
Gnease I used the information that I found on the 51 Modders forum... I'm copying and pasting the exact instructions as I found them. Make sure you tape up the bottom of the neck where it will sit into the body. Just mark the neck on all 3 sides where it sits in the body before you remove the neck. The shellac even though thinned down, still builds up pretty thick and you dont want to have any trouble getting the neck to go back into the housing. I did not mark and tape mine and hand to break out the sand paper when it came time to put it back together. This technique works better than I expected, I mean it really looks good. The picture doesnt do it justice. Everything that you need can be found at lowes, except for that Novus 2 Polish. I haven't found that yet either and the neck isn't as smooth as I'd like it to be so I'm waiting to polish the neck before restringing it. Anyway heres the instructions.... As far as my headstock decal goes, I used vinyl decals and put them on before doing the process. Good Luck my friend and one more tip spend the extr bucks for a good paintbrush so that you dont have to deal with the hair coming out of it.

EDIT : Make sure and wipe the neck down good with Lighter fluid before doing anything

I used Zinsser's Bulls Eye Amber Shellac. Thinned it 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Put on 4 coats at 15 min intervals, left overnight, scuffed with fine scuff pad, wiped with tack rag, then 4 more coats at 15 min intervals. Left it overnight again, scuffed and tacked, then sprayed a couple thin coats of satin Deft. Let dry overnight, scuffed, then buffed by hand with Novus 2.

1. When the '51 arrives, what do I do? I will change the strings...to .010? But beyond that, I don't know..... any advice on setup beyond tightening the screws and fittings?...links to setting the action and I guess each string is adjustable for tone?

Check out Nils guitar page for some basic setup instructions. But, I would not necessarily change to 10s yet. Play with the 9's for a while, they will be lot easier to bend. I am assuming you are playing mostly chords on the accoustic, and so don't do bends and such much.
2. Any suggestions for making the transition from acoustic to electric playing?

Well, you have an amp already..hook it up and try the things you have been trying on accoustics. Also try out some of the lead guitar/scale oriented lessons here on GN. When you first play electric, it may really sound out of control. Especially, you will need to learn how to mute strings that you are not playing.

Also, you may want to post a separate topic for suggestions on switching to electric on the Beginner Forum. Your question is likely to get lost here in this huge thread.

What did you end up using to darken the neck?
Gnease I used the information that I found on the 51 Modders forum... I'm copying and pasting the exact instructions as I found them. Make sure you tape up the bottom of the neck where it will sit into the body. Just mark the neck on all 3 sides where it sits in the body before you remove the neck. The shellac even though thinned down, still builds up pretty thick and you dont want to have any trouble getting the neck to go back into the housing. I did not mark and tape mine and hand to break out the sand paper when it came time to put it back together. This technique works better than I expected, I mean it really looks good. The picture doesnt do it justice. Everything that you need can be found at lowes, except for that Novus 2 Polish. I haven't found that yet either and the neck isn't as smooth as I'd like it to be so I'm waiting to polish the neck before restringing it. Anyway heres the instructions.... As far as my headstock decal goes, I used vinyl decals and put them on before doing the process. Good Luck my friend and one more tip spend the extr bucks for a good paintbrush so that you dont have to deal with the hair coming out of it.

EDIT : Make sure and wipe the neck down good with Lighter fluid before doing anything

I used Zinsser's Bulls Eye Amber Shellac. Thinned it 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Put on 4 coats at 15 min intervals, left overnight, scuffed with fine scuff pad, wiped with tack rag, then 4 more coats at 15 min intervals. Left it overnight again, scuffed and tacked, then sprayed a couple thin coats of satin Deft. Let dry overnight, scuffed, then buffed by hand with Novus 2.

Thanks. All looks good. Funny thing -- I picked up a few cans of orange enamal before ever seeing yours. Haven't painted yet, but am filling the holes to go guard-less. But as I've no place to paint until the weather warms, it will probably stay black until late spring.

Thanks. I think you are right about the biggest problem at first is going to be muting the strings I'm not playing and getting a clean sound. 20+ years ago I did have an nice electirc for a very short time before it got stolen and I remember thinking it was like the differnce between driving a jeep without power steering and a 70's land yacht like a Buick 225 with power everything....I used way too much force and was all over the place. That's why I was thinking of going to slightly bigger strings to help it feel a little more comfortable. I always use extra lights on my Taylor acoustic to get the lowest action an a little bit of bend to the strings. I'll go to the lesson section and do a little research.